HOME-GROWN Singlife will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese life insurer Sumitomo Life Insurance.

Sumitomo Life entered into a binding agreement to purchase all the 35 per cent shares in the Singaporean insurer held by TPG, which has been an investor since 2020, said Singlife on Friday (Dec 22).

“Sumitomo Life will also make an offer to buy up the shares of all other remaining shareholders,” said Singlife.

Valued at S$4.6 billion in the deal, the local insurer added that Sumitomo Life will have 100 per cent ownership of Singlife if all the offers are accepted.

The transactions, subject to regulatory approvals in Japan and Singapore, are expected to be completed in Q1 2024.

The agreement came on the back of Sumitomo Life’s purchase of Aviva’s stake in Singlife, announced on Sep 13. Sumitomo Life subsequently increased its stake in Singlife in November.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

The Japanese life insurer has been Singlife’s strategic investor since 2019. It valued Singapore as a key part of its South-east Asia strategy and “expects the deal to strengthen the earnings of its international business portfolio”, according to the filing.

Singlife chairman Ray Ferguson said: “As a subsidiary of Sumitomo Life, we will have access to capital, a nimble shareholding structure, and be at the centre of a strategic plan to provide financial planning solutions for consumers in South-east Asia.”

Singlife chief executive Pearlyn Phau assured investors that Singlife will stay true to its business strategies and plans with support from Sumitomo Life, which does not want to change the way Singlife operates.

“We agree that we will continue to focus first on our customers, to continually build better solutions to help them and their families achieve financial freedom,” she added.